Keeper for refrigerator locks



' May 12, 1925. 1,537,703 r A. RUBIN KEEPER FOR REFRIGERATOR LOCKS FiledJuly 11, 1923 IN 145N702 l 'a tented May 12, 1925.

rsngua unit so STATES; PATENT orator...

anorrrr RUBIN, or sr. LOUIS, rssonar,

A s sNOa o SIEBER mo s M nt as.

TUBING COMPANY, or s'r. LoUI-s, Mrssonnr, a oonronarxon or ivrissoonr."

nnrna F03 nnrarennarron rooKsL Application filed July 11, 1923; SerialNo. 650,837.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, Anonrrr RUBIN," a citizen of the United States,residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Keepers for Be frigerator Locks, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to looks of the kind that are used on ice boxesandrefrigerators.

Locks of the kind referred to comprise a movable latch, usually mountedon the door of the refrigerator, and a stationary keeper mounted on thefront side ofthe refrigeratorin such a manner that it will cooperatewith the latch to retain the door in' its closed position. lock the partof the keeper that co-operates with the latch is integrally connected toaplate which is secured by screws or other suitable fastening devicestothe front of-the refrigerator. Consequently, when the latch or the partof the keeper with which it cooperates becomes worn, or when the gasketat the edge of the dooropening becomes worn, the door of therefrigerator will not fit perfectly tight when it is in its closedposition, because the pressure of the latchon the keeper is dependedupon to hold the doorpressed tightly against the gasket. Moreover, asthe latch is mounted on. the front side of the door, it is necessary touse a keeper provided with a long shank when the door is of considerablethickness, and a keeper provided with a short shank when the door of therefrigerator is con'iparatively thin.

One object of my invention is to provide a novel keeper for refrigeratorlooks that can be adjusted to compensate for wear on the latch of thelook or on theportion of the keeper with which the latch co-operates, orto compensate for wear on the door gasket.

Another object is to provide a novel keeper for refrigerator looks thatcan be adjusted easily to adapt it to refrigerator doors of differentthicknesses.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a front elevational view of a refrigeratorlock keeper constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of said keeper and Figure 3 is aside elevational View, show In the conventional refrigerator ing saithkeeper mounted inoperative position on a refrigerator equipped with alook provided with a latch that does not strike against the keeperduring the operation of closing the doorof the refrigerator.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a plate that is adapted to bevsecured to the. front of refrigerator by screws or other suitablefastening devices that pass through holes 1 in. said plate. B designatesa horizontally-disposed shank that projects for.- wardly from. the plateA and C designates a. latchrengaging' member adj ustably mounted,

on said shank B. The particular design of" the member C is immaterial,andfany suitable means can be used for retaining said member in adjustedposition on theqshank B. In. the form of my invention herein illustrated the latch engaging, member (1 has a notch or recess 2 thatreceives the latch of the. look when the refrigerator door is in itsclosed position, and said member. is provided with a depending portion.3. that pro jects downwardly along one side, of; the shank B, and, also.a horizontally-disposed portion L that projects; laterally under thebottom edge of said shank, said parts 3 and 4 coroperating, with the.portion of the member C that bears upon the top. edge, of the shank Bto. form a yoke that embraces three. sides of said, shank. A clampingscrew D that extends through a hole in the depending portion 3 of themember G and an elongated slot 5 in the shank B is threaded into aclamping plate E arranged on the other side of the shank B in parallelrelation to the portion 3, said screw being adapted to be tightened soas to draw the clamping plate E and the portion 3 tightly against theshank B.

If the latch or the portion of the keeper with which it co-operatesbecomes worn, or if the door gasket becomes worn, the clamping screw Dcan be released so as to permit the member C to be adjustedlongitudinally of the shank B ina direction to compensate for wear, thusinsuring the latch of the lock bearing against the keeper in such a wayas to hold the door pressed tightly against the gasket on the front ofthe refrigerator when the door is in its closed position, it being ofcourse understood that the clamping screw D is tightened after themember C has been adjusted in proper position on the shank. If thekeeper is to be used on a refrigerator provided with a comparativelythick door, the member C can be adjusted outwardly or towards the frontend of the shank l3, and if the keeper is to be used on a comparativelythin door, said member C can be adjusted inwardly or towards the plateA. It will thus be seen that a refrigerator lock keeper of theconstruction above deduring the operation of closing the door of therefrigerator. In Figure 3 of the drawings I have illustrated such alock, the reference character F designating the latch of the lock whichis retained in an elevated position by a spring-actuated trigger whilethe refrigerator door is'moving into its closed position, and thereference character G designating a tripping device that strikes againstan abutment, and thus causes the latch to be released at about the timethe door reaches its fully closed position. The abutment with -which thetripping device G co-operates is preferably formed by a part H thatprojects laterallyfrom the member C of the keeper, as shown in Figure 1,said abutment H being integrally connected to the member C so that theposition of same will be changed when the latch-engaging member isadjusted longitudinally of the shank B. If desired, the plate A whichcarries the shank B may be provided at one edge with a notch or cut outportion 6, so as to receive the part of the' abutment H adjacent themember C, When said member is adjusted in its extreme inner position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claimas new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1 A keeper for refrigerator locks, coinprising a part adapted to beconnected to the refrigeratorand provided with a forwardly-pro ectingshank, and a latch-engaging member ad ustably mounted on said shank andprovided with a laterally-proectmg abutment that is adapted to beenportion and shank and tapped into said clamping plate.

3. A keeper for refrigerator locks provided with a latch-engaging memberthat can be adjusted towards and away from the front of therefrigerator, and a laterally projecting abutment for a tripping devicecarried by said member, and adjustable with same. 1

4. A keeper for refrigerator locks, comprising a plate provided with aforwardlyprojecting shank, an adjustable latch-engaging member mountedon said shank, a laterally-projecting abutment sition. I

ADOLPH RUBIN.

integrally i connected to said 1nember,'and a notch or

